10 Magicians Who Died During Their Performances

10 Magicians Who Died During Their Performances

People love to be amazed by the trickery achieved by world class performance artists around the globe. While magic today isn’t as big of a craze as it was before, due to the power of the people to quickly see beneath the shadows of the magic trick itself, the truth is that both magic and magic acts are still appreciated. While most don’t realize it, magic is a dangerous act and as these ten cases show, it can actually lead to death if a slight mistake in the performance is made.

The Great Lafayette

The highest paid magician of his time, Sigmund Neuberger, also known as the Great Lafayette, loved animals more than he loved himself. During an opening performance on May 9, 1911, there was a fire during his trick ‘The Lion’s Bride.’ While Lafayette managed to escape, he ran back to the burning building to save a horse, resulting in his death.

The Amazing Joe

Joseph W. Burrus, also known as the Amazing Joe, wanted to become as famous as his idol,Harry Houdini. Thus on Halloween in 1992, he attempted to do the buried alive escape act. Being trapped in a homemade coffin and placed into a grave two meters deep, the Amazing Joe was burred underneath seven tons of dirt. However, the dirt collapsed on him, crushing him to death even before leaving the coffin.